you are one of us too
by uptightcrankyshadownet
Summary: "What-feels-like-a-thousand-days left to go." Mild mentions of sexual activity (and Henley has a crush on the oblivious Alma).


The Horsemen, under the advice of The Eye, slink back into the shadows after their so-called final goodbye at Five Pointz and wait it out. To allow people to forget, before they come back into the limelight twice as brilliant. In the two years before they make their comeback, they work with Dylan to improve their act and brainstorm on how to take everyone's breath away once more- and that means a lot of meetings at Dylan's little apartment. Dylan sits on the sofa idly shuffling cards, and he's gotten used to Danny plopping himself in prone position on his beanbag near the coffee table, to Merritt and Henley sitting cross-legged in front of aforementioned coffee table debating the ideas they've all come up with, and Jack perched on the side of the sofa, legs swinging and chirping suggestions every now and then. Dylan guides them along, advises them, and shows them how best to wow the world once more.

None of them really remember _when _exactly Alma opened the door into Dylan's flat and saw them gathered around the table, focused and arguing, making points and drawing conclusions. None of them remember how she quietly slipped past, placed her bag down on the dining table, got on the sofa and lay her head in Dylan's lap, and just listened.

What they _do _remember, though, is that for some reason, her presence didn't feel like an intrusion. More like something had been completed. They remember it felt right.

Alma starts doing that more often, and once in a while, she offers suggestions in her quiet voice, her French accent. And somehow her presence adds _something _to the group- makes it more than business and career. Instead of crowding around Dylan's little table every afternoon they start to go out- hang around Central Park, go for brunch together, go diving (and watch Danny and Jack argue on the diving board about who'll make the jump first while the other four of them yell from inside the pool to just _jump already_). They bond. They laugh. They have fun. Danny and Alma argue about the most trivial things, even more than he does with Henley. Jack teaches her basic magic tricks because he's the best at the little things that all magicians starts with- rope, cards, balls, coins, handkerchief. Merritt teases her constantly with his particular brand of sardonic, self-depreciating humour, while she and Henley go deep and personal over countless drinks at Dylan's home bar. And every night after they leave, Dylan kisses her forehead and says "thank you."

And naturally, apart from the fun and the carefree times- they talk, they discuss, they debate, they plan, they create, they edit, they rehearse, they broadcast, all six of them, _together_. They finish the last touches to their costumes they're wearing when their world tour kicks off over Christmas dinner with all of them cramming their mouths full of turkey, pudding and eggnog while they finish sewing and ironing and retouching, and Alma jokingly warns them all not to eat too much or they won't fit into their garb.

It does ache a little inside, for her, when they work on five pieces of attire, not six. They've become so close, and Alma isn't sure how she's going to be able to leave them all behind when they go off for their round-the-world tour. She isn't sure how she's going to be able to cope without Danny's too-fast speech and Merritt's sarcasm and Jack's bright smiles and Henley's laugh and that little warm, tender half-smile that Dylan saves specially for her. Alma looks around at them, laughing and yelling and the Christmas spirit surrounding them, and can't help but miss them already.

The very last night before the Four Horsemen go back on tour to wow the whole damn planet- New Years' Eve- they congregate at Dylan's place (where else?) and Henley mixes up way too many shots to be counted as healthy and they sing karaoke from dinnertime to midnight. Alma sits on Dylan's worn-out couch and tries in vain to concentrate on her microwaved dinner- they're all laughing too much from off-key singing and confused duets. They scream "happy new year" on the balcony and clink glasses and watch fireworks explode in the distance. It's beautiful and glorious and yet Alma feels her eyes pricking with tears once Dylan sends his Horsemen packing and tells them (they'll claim _threaten _is a better descriptor) to get a good rest before the flight the next day.

Not that Dylan takes his own advice. He spends the wee hours of the morning breathing countless emotions every line and curve of Alma's slender frame and hearing her soft gasps as she jitters and bucks and arches beneath him. When his lips find their way to the shell of her ear Alma hears five words that feel like a punch to the gut.

"You could come, you know."

She shakes her head, turns away. "You know I can't."

There is a beat of silence accompanied by her shudder and hiss as he thrusts inside her. "This place is going to feel empty without us." She's about to reply but he shakes his head, obvious even in the dim moonlight filtering through the slats in the blinds. "It is going to feel empty wherever we are, without you."

When Dylan holds her, sated and peaceful in his arms, he sighs. "I'll Skype you every night."

Alma turns to look at him and smiles, tracing his jawline with one finger. "That's a promise."

The Horsemen make the exact same promise before they enter the departure hall. They all hug her and Henley gives her a kiss on the cheek and Dylan doesn't let go of her for _way _too long. "We'll miss you."

The Interpol officer waves them off and watches them leave, and whispers, "I'll miss you too."

The next day she tunes in to the Horsemen's internet site and watches with a proud smile as it broadcasts clips of their show- watches Merritt crack his jokes and Jack show off his skill at cards and Henley make a flawless leap in mid-air and Danny make his perfect closure- and she smiles when her computer lets out a piercing sound, notifying her of someone wanting to Skype.

"Hey, beautiful," Dylan smiles once the connection is stable and he sees her on screen.

"Hey, you got connected? I want to look, Dylan! Hey, Alma, can you see me? Look, I'm ov- OW!" Danny lunges over Dylan's shoulder and his entire face takes up the screen before he winces as Henley prods him viciously in the ribs and elbows him away, only to take his place in front of Dylan's webcam. "Hey, Alma- how's it going back home? Do you miss us yet?"

There's the sound of a loud scuffle coming from the back, and she hears Jack yelling "Danny, go _away, _I want to see her too!", and Alma has to laugh. "Yeah, I miss you five. Don't kill each other while you're away without me. Maybe when I have the time I'll fly down to wherever you are for the day and visit you."

"Great idea!" Jack's apparently won the scrimmage and appears behind Henley's shoulder on the webcam. "Henley says she's going crazy with no other woman around to keep her company."

From somewhere off-screen, Alma hears Merritt's shout. "We gave her a bedroom of her own in this penthouse so none of us would hear her complaints all night."

They all chuckle as Henley leaps away from the computer to run after Merritt and give him a socking. Dylan and Danny take the chance to resume their places in front of the display. "Seriously, though, how's it going back home?" Danny's face is open and lined with concern, and Alma can't help but smile. "It's only been a _day _since you guys left. Nothing has happened, except I noticed you forgot to pack your lucky card, Danny."

With a loud cry the leader of the team dashes to his suitcase and starts rummaging through it, and Alma hears muffled "oh no oh no"s. Jack frowns at her from their luxurious hotel room in Hong Kong. "You're just trying to get rid of us so you can talk to Dylan, aren't you?"

"Yes. Sort of. But seriously, Danny left his lucky card behind. You can tell him to stop searching his luggage already." Alma snatches it up from beside her and waves it at the screen. Jack guffaws before nodding and replying "okay, have fun being lovey dovey with Dylan. We'll videotape him."

Dylan rolls his eyes while Jack slinks away out of the corner of the monitor. "Hey."

"Hey," She answers, her smile becoming less amused and more affectionate. "I saw the clips. Great job. You guys pulled it off so well."

"It'll get even better," Dylan answers but she sees his eyes light up and his grin get a little wider. "We really miss you. It's not the same without you around."

"You can say that again... your flat is so... empty. And way too big."

"I miss you, Alma Dray."

They sit and gaze at each other in silence for a bit before Henley jumps right in front of Dylan and beams at her. "_We _miss you. Can't wait till you have an opening to fly down and meet us! In a while we'll be in Seoul, it's supposed to be cold!" Her excitement is infectious even halfway around the world and Alma feels her heart skip a beat as the fact that they really aren't going to be back for ages sinks in.

"Hey, we have to go. We're flying off really soon." With an even more unpleasant pang Alma remembers that Hong Kong's timezone is GMT +8. It's pretty much already her _tomorrow _there- they can't talk for a long time, ever. And that kills her.

"Have a safe flight," Alma says with a weak smile as Dylan yells for the boys to come say goodbye. They all crowd around the laptop shouting what sounds like a blend of "see you" "we love you" "miss you" "chat tomorrow" and "can't wait to see you again" and Alma takes a screenshot to remember the moment, because as much as it hurts to be apart from them, it's so touching and it makes her so happy to see they care.

"See you, love," Dylan says just as he cuts the connection. He pauses, then leans a little closer. "You are one of us, too."

Alma sits in front of her laptop for a long while after that with a small smile on her face. Those six words mean more than Dylan could ever comprehend.

What-feels-like-a-thousand-days left to go.


End file.
